The Thousand Islands

The name conjures up exotic images and the reality doesn't disappoint. And it has always been so. In his book "The Picturesque St. Lawrence River", published in 1895, JNO Haddock called it "The fairest place on earth". In 1882, "Picturesque Canada" referred to it as "This enchanted land". In the 1840s, Charles Dickens wrote; "The beauty of this noble stream, especially among The Thousand Islands, can hardly be imagined." H. Tudor wrote in 1831; "Nothing can be imagined more lovely and picturesque than winding your constantly meandering course through this verdant labyrinth." And for the 7,000 years before that life has been documented here, almost back to the last ice age, it was "Manitouanna" - the garden of the Great Spirit.

My first visit happened totally by chance, a random flight up the St. Lawrence River along the border of Canada and the United States in 1992 in my Challenger floatplane and was astounded by what I saw. That flight changed everything. My view was even better than Dickens' and Haddock's. I had the privilege of looking down from above. While beautiful from water level, the next shoreline hides what lies beyond. What I saw was entirely different, an intricate and entrancing labyrinth with fingers of deep green water threading between a mosaic of islands, crowned with craggy, windswept pines.

And that wasn't all. Delightful cottages and boathouses graced islands and cliffs, while another characteristic stood this place apart. Grand old mansions and yacht houses were common, each more intriguing than the last. Even castles on islands, Dark Island's Singer Castle and Boldt Castle on Heart Island still boasting of their creators' wealth and suggesting that this place had been chosen long before by people who could afford to choose anywhere. Historic lighthouses stood on shoals and tiny islands with their keepers' homes (Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, Rock Island Light, Sunken Rock Light, Sister Island Light and Crossover Island Light) adding unusual charm along with bridges of every size and description, from tiny arches accessing the next islet to soaring suspension spans as pretty as any I'd seen anywhere connecting two nations and spanning the over 1800 islands that are shared between New York State and the Province of Ontario in Canada.

Boats and ships thread their way through all this, from tiny wooden skiffs to square riggers to freighters and giant lakers longer than many of the islands. The ships carry flags from around the world with home ports in places unknown. Others lie in the shallows as shipwrecks, hinting at many more in the depths, victims of shoals, fog and storms but beautifully preserved by the fresh water. It is the highway that settled the continent and now as the St. Lawrence Seaway, it continues to serve as one of its most important arteries. This isn't your average lake. It is so very much more. How could I have never known this existed? That day, my life changed forever. Three years later, I became the luckiest person alive, the owner (I prefer steward) of one in a thousand or more precisely one in 1,865, an island with a perfect natural harbor that would protect my plane from marauding storms that can quickly turn the River into a cruel sea. When I found myself living on the River amongst its wildlife and through its moods and seasons, I began to realize that I had an opportunity and the more I thought about it, perhaps even an obligation.

My life had brought together several unlikely ingredients that had converged at the island. A career in the aircraft business had taught me a lot about aerial photography, and my Challenger's unusual low and slow capabilities make it the ideal photography platform. Unlike most photographers who are sent on assignment with expectations of capturing the spirit of a place in a quick visit, I was living in "the assignment" and had years to do this. Nor did I have to rely on rental planes or pilots, available only when the sun is high and the light all wrong. I could be in the air in the dark and circling the subject at sunrise when the warm light is its most mystical and magical and if the weather wasn't right this day, week or year, I could try again the next or the one after that. I could reveal this place from its finest vantage point and share a view that most people never see. And so it came to pass and will continue to. What follows is the tip of the iceberg. The library currently numbers over 20,000 Thousand Islands photos. Only a small percentage are presented here, through Albums sorted into theme and by Neighborhood. Simply click on Albums and choose one or click on Neighborhoods and bring up another list. You'll also find sample images from a trilogy of books, Volume I - The 1000 Islands, Volume II - Water, Wind and Sky and Volume III - The Thousand Islands.

If you come across a picture that you think might be of interest to someone, click on the appropriate thumbnail to stop the slideshow and use the small email icon at the bottom left of the image to send them a link. If an image might prove useful as a gift or to decorate cottage, home or office, click on the image to order an archival 13 x 19 or 24 x35 inch giclée print. Larger print sizes are available on special order as is usage for publications. Inquire by email under Contact.

Each winter month I share unpublished images of the area for use as computer wallpaper. There is an informal contest to identify where the shot was taken and share stories about it so we all can learn more about the place. If you'd like to receive them, please leave your email address on the Notification List under Contact. Privacy matters. Your address will not be shared elsewhere.

The hope is that exploring the region through these photos will not only be easier than doing it on the River (it is over 200 square miles), but also provide something of a support system for those of us who wish to be there when we can't. I hope it will also foster a better understanding of how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy such a unique and amazing place.

- Ian Coristine

New on the site:
December 1st, 2006: December Wallpaper Image.
December 6th: New Album - Canadian Span and Area; New Image - Grenadier & Area; Home page - new explanatory text.
December 10th: New Images added to Albums - Wildlife.
December 13th: New Album - U.S. Span & Area; New images - Alexandria Bay, Canadian Span, Grenadier, Lake Fleet Group.
December 20th: New Album - Summerland Group & Area; New images - Lake Fleet Group, Chippewa Bay.
January 1st, 2007: January Wallpaper Image.
January 6th: Media button added with Central New York Magazine story available for download as a PDF.
January 29th: Volvo LIV Magazine story added under Media and available for download as a PDF.
February 1st: February Wallpaper Image.
February 20th: Dates and locations for future exhibitions added to Artist page.
February 21st: New Album - Jones Creek Area. March 8th: Current and extended island weather added to CAM page.
March 1st: March Wallpaper Image.
April 1st: April Wallpaper Image.
April 7th: New video - Capturing the aerial view added to the CAM page.
May 1st: May Wallpaper Image, new 8 minute slideshow "A Thousand Moods" replaces the live camera view on the CAM page.
May 27th: Details of St. Lawrence University's Richard F. Brush Art Gallery exhibition posted on Exhibitions page.
May 28th: Volvo Car Espana Magazine article "Cuidar de laVida" (pdf) posted on Media Page.
June 18th: New images added to Jones Creek Album (under Albums - Neighborhoods).
July 2nd: New images added to Wildlife Album.
July 17th: New Album - Clients - commercial photo usage, added under Albums and Artist.
August 28th:  Details of a 2007 Premier Print "Benny" Award added to Media page.
September 19th: New Images added to Albums - Neighborhoods - Clayton.
October 26th:  Island Internet CAM live to bring you back live to the River (daylight only).
October 29th: Lakeland Boating Magazine Feature "St. Lawrence Reverie" added to Media page.
October 30th: Ehrensenf Internet TV 1000 Islands video added to Media page.
November 1st: November Wallpaper Image.
November 30th: New live CAM view posted to replace failed Island camera.  11/20/07 image posted on CAM page to provide comparison with year ago water levels in Thousand Moods video.
December 1st: December wallpaper image.
January 1st, 2008: January Wallpaper image.
January 3rd: New Album - Ships.
January 4th: New Album - Flora.
January 5th: New Album - Moods.
January 6th: New Albums - Boathouses, Cottages.
January 10th: New Album - Navy Islands.
February 1st: February Wallpaper image.
March 1st: March Wallpaper image.
April 1st: April Wallpaper image. New comments section added to monthly wallpaper postings.
May 1st: May Wallpaper image.
September 17th: Raleigh Island camera up and running, new images added to many Albums. October 12th: New content added to Media page and Cottages Album.
November 1st: November Wallpaper Image.
December 1st: December Wallpaper Image.
January 1st, 2009: January Wallpaper image.